Vacuum cleaners



VACUUM CLEANERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 29, 1959 T z M 0 N S a Y mfiw m ee R mmfiw, .0 wfim m Mu /M Y w B 3 W M J 12% w NOD & mm W June 19, 1962 M. E. BELICKA ET AL VACUUM CLEANERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 29, 1959 /Illllillllf THEIR ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,039,130 Patented June 19, 1962 3,939,130 VACUUM CLEANERS Michael E. Belicka, Greenwich, Leon P. Borkoslri, Stamford, and Ferrnan C. Doughman, Darien, Conn., assignors to Electrolux Corporation, Old Greenwich, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 29, 1959, Ser. No. 849,534 6 Claims. (Cl. 15--377) Our invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly to cleaners of the enclosed bag type in which the air passes through the dust separating member before entering the fan. A cleaner of this type may employ a fan which is designed to handle only clean air, inasmuch as the dirt is separated before the air reaches the fan, and such a fan is capable of producing a much higher suction than is one which is able to pass dirty air Without becoming fouled.

The nozzle of such a vacuum cleaner is usually connected to the dust bag and fan unit by means of two sec-' tions of rigid pipe, which also serve as a handle for manipulating the nozzle, and a flexible suction hose. Thus in cleaning it is necessary to move only the nozzle and pipe sections back and forth over the surface being cleaned, the heavier dust bag and fan unit remaining stationary at the end of the flexible hose, the unit being moved only as the cleaning operation progresses from one end of the surface to the other. Also, it is convenient for above the floor cleaning to connect a suitable suction nozzle directly to the end of the hose.

With a cleaner of this nature it has been common practice to rely on straight suction at the nozzle for removing dirt from the surface being cleaned, aided sometimes by stationary or floating brushes in the nozzle. However, with the advent of rugs made of various synthetic fibers, certain of these rugs have proved to be difficult to clean with straight suction, it requiring mechanical agitation to properly release the dirt from its adhesion to the fibers. In order to provide such agitation it has been proposed to employ either an air turbine in the nozzle for driving a rotary brush or other agitator, or to provide an electric motor in the nozzle for this purpose. The disadvantage of the first arrangement is that there is not suflicient air power available for both operating a turbine and producing a suitable air stream for picking up dirt, because if the air is passed through a turbine a pressure drop results, which reduces by this amount the suction available at the nozzle mouth to produce airflow. The disadvantage of an electric motor is that it requires a complicated and cumbersome arrangement of electric conductors to convey electricity from the dust separating and fan unit to the nozzle. A separate electric cord lying on the floor and running to the nozzle is so inconvenient as to be totally impractical. Consequently, it is necessary to have the conductors extend along or through the hose and the pipe sections. However, due to the fact that there are at least four separable joints and usually at least two swivel joints, where the conductors would have to be separable and turnable, respectively, this has proved impracticable.

It has also been common practice to provide a suction nozzle with a mechanically driven agitator connected directly and permanently to the dust separating and fan unit, the agitator being driven by the motor that drives the fan. Such an arrangement is entirely feasible if the fan is located ahead of the dust separating member, but this means that the fan must be able to handle dirty air and, as above stated, such a fan is not capable of producing a high suction. On the other hand, if the dust bag or other dust separating member is located ahead of the fan, it is between the nozzle and the fan and fan motor and therefore interferes with the transmission of mechanical motion from the motor to an agitator in the nozzle.

2 In accordance with our present invention the above mentioned difficulties are overcome by providing a nozzle having an agitator driven by an electric motor in the nozzle, such nozzle being directly connectable with the dust bag and fan unit, the bag being located ahead of the fan so that the latter may be of the high suction type. Separable electrical contacts between the nozzle and the unit are arranged to be automatically connected together when the nozzle is secured to the unit. A detachable pivoted handle is provided for manipulating the combined unit and nozzle over the surface being cleaned. When it is desired to use the dust separating and fan unit in connection with a flexible hose, the above mentioned nozzle may be removed and a hose connected in its place, and the handle detached.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and of which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention showing a nozzle connected thereto by means of a flexible hose;

FIG. 2. is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a nozzle connected directly to the vacuum cleaner;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of a detail of a handle shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the nozzle and part of the vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 77 of FIGS. 2 and 5, and with a portion of the nozzle broken away.

Referring to the drawings, reference character 10 designates generally a vacuum cleaner unit including a hollow housing mounted on a front caster Wheel 12 and a pair of rear Wheels 14. The housing comprises an elongated horizontal portion 16 to which is secured near the rear end thereof a vertically extending portion 18 having an outlet 19. A carrying handle 20 is secured to the upper part of housing portion 16 and an electric switch 22 is located directly in front of the handle.

As is shown more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 5, a blower unit comprising an electric motor 24 and a centrifugal fan 26 having an inlet 27 is disposed partially within the vertical housing 18 and extends into the rear portion of the horizontal housing 16. The forward part of the horizontal housing comprises a dust bag chamber within which is disposed a perforated inner body 28 adapted to removably receive a dust bag 30. As shown, the latter comprises aporous bag portion secured to a relatively stiff disc 32 having an outwardly extending flange portion adapted to be clamped against a gasket 34 by means of a sealing ring 36 mounted on an inlet conduit 38 of a front cover 40. The disc 32 is formed with an inlet opening 42 through which the conduit 38 extends when the cover is in place. As shown more particularly in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 a pair of spring clips 44 is provided on the outside of body 16 for engaging the front cover 40 to removably hold the latter in place.

The outer end of inlet conduit 38 is provided with an inwardly extending radial flange 4-5 which constitutes one-half of a separable coupling. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the other half of this coupling is mounted on a conduit 48 and includes resilient latches 50 which engage behind the lip 46 to connect the conduit 48 to the front cover 20, and which may be retracted by the manually operable buttons 52 to release the coupling.

As shown, the conduit 48 is in the form of an elbow with its vertical leg rigidly connected to a nozzle memher 54. This nozzle includes a base portion 56 on which is mounted an electric motor 58 having a cooling fan 68. Also mounted in bearings 61 on the base 56 is rotatable brush 62 driven by the motor 58 through a belt 64. This brush is located in a suction mouth 66 formed in a plate 68 which otherwise closes the bottom of the base portion 56, except for a slot 70 through which extends a supporting roller 72 rotatably mounted in the base portion. As is clearly shown in FIG. 5, the suction mouth 66 is in open communication with the conduit 48. As is shown, plate 68 may also be formed with a plunality of ribs 74 which serve both to stiffen the plate and to provide gliding surfaces. An ornamental hood 71 is mounted on base 56 and covers motor 58, fan 68 and belt 64. The hood is formed with openings 73 for the admission of air to cooling fan 60'. A bumper 75 extends around the nozzle.

As is shown more particularly in FIGS. 6 and 7 rigid pins 76 are secured to the base portion 56 and extend rearwardly therefrom parallel to the horizontal portion of elbow conduit 48. The bottom of housing 16 is provided with sockets 78 which are adapted to frictionally receive the pins 76. The various parts are so located with respect to each other that when the pins 76 are received in the sockets 78, the conduit 48 is received in the inlet opening in the cover 40. The nozzle 54 is thus connected to the rest of the vacuum cleaner at three points, thus providing a non-rotatable connection between the two. The engagement of the latches 52 behind the lip 46 prevents unintentional separation of the nozzle 54 from the vacuum cleaner unit 10.

Also mounted on the base portion 56 preferably adjacent to one of the pins 76 is an electric plug 88 having contact prongs 82 which are so located as to be received within an electric receptacle 84 mounted on the cleaner body. Thus, when the nozzle is attached to the vacuum cleaner an electric circuit is automatically established from the receptacle 84 to the plug 84). As shown in FIG. 7, the plug 80 is connected by conductors 86 to the electric motor 58. The receptacle 84 is connected by conductors not shown so as to be parallel with the motor 24, the circuit to both motors 24 and 58 being controlled by the switch 22.

As is shown more particularly in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a handle member 90 may be removably secured to the vacuum cleaner unit The handle includes a hand grip portion 92 and a fork portion having legs 94, the lower ends of which straddle the vacuum cleaner unit and are provided with inwardly extending pins 96 which may 'be engaged in blind holes 98 formed in opposite sides of the housing 16. The resiliency of the fork portion of the handle makes it possible to spread the legs 94 sufiiciently to engage .the pins in the holes, whereupon the resiliency causes the legs to retain the pins therein. Secured to each leg near its lower end is a segment shaped plate 186 formed with stops 102 and 104. tending pins 106 disposed vertically above and slightly forward of the holes 98, and in line with stops 102 and 104 when the handle is secured to unit 10. With the handle in the position shown in FIG. 2, the pins 106 are midway between the stops 102 and 184 and the handle may be pivoted upwardly or downwardly. Upward pivoting is limited by the stop 104 striking the pin 186, the handle being then slightly past the vertical, and hence will remain in this position as gravity tends to cause it to pivot counter-clockwise. Downward pivoting of the handle is limited by the stop 182 contacting the pin 106 to retain the handle at an angle of about 45 from the vertical. The hand grip portion 92 is provided with a hook-like projection 108 over which may be looped the electric cord 110 so as to keep the latter off the floor immediately to the rear of the vacuum cleaner and thus out of the way of the feet of the operator.

In FIG. 1 the cleaner unit 10 is shown with the above The housing 16 is provided with outwardly exdescribed nozzle removed and with a flexible suction hose 112 connected to the inlet opening in the front cover 4!). This hose is provided with a coupling similar to that provided at the end of conduit 48 of the nozzle and consequently the end of the hose may be removably secure-d to the front cover in the same manner as described in connection with the conduit 48. The other end of the hose 112 is connected to a suction nozzle 114 of conventional type, a pair of rigid wands 116 being interposed therebetween. These wands serve the dual purpose of providing a fluid connection between the nozzle and the hose and serving as a handle member for manipulating the nozzle over the surface to be cleaned.

In use, if it is desired to clean an ordinary rug which is susceptible of being cleaned by straight suction, the combination shown in FIG. 1 is used. During cleaning, the operator moves the nozzle 114 back and forth over the rug, the unit 10 remaining stationary, except as it is necessary to move it occasionally as the cleaning progresses from one end of the rug to the other. ,However, it is not necessary to move it back and forth with each stroke of the nozzle. The air induced to enter the nozzle 114 by the suction produced by the blower 26 re moves dirt from the rug in the usual way, the dirt-ladened air being conducted through the wands 116 and hose 112 to bag 30, which retains the dirt while permitting clean air to pass therethrough to the inlet 27 of blower 26. From the blower the air is discharged through the motor 24 into the space within housing 18, from whence it is exhausted to atmosphere through the outlet 19.

However, when it is desired to clean a rug to which "dirt adheres so tenaciously as to resist removal by straight suction, the hose 112 is disconnected from the unit 10 by depressing the buttons 52, whereupon the nozzle 54 may be directly connected to the unit. In order to do this, the pins 76 are aligned with the recesses in the sockets 78 and the conduit 48 is aligned with .the inlet opening in the cover 48, whereupon the nozzle is moved horizont-ally towards the unit 18. This causes the conduit 48 to be introduced into the inlet opening, the spring latches 50 being deflected by the annular lip 46 and thereafter latching behind the lip so as to prevent unintended withdrawal of the conduit. At the same time, the pins 76 are frictionally received within the sockets 78 so that the nozzle is now rigidly secured to the cleaning unit 10'. During this attaching procedure, the prongs 82 on the plug 88 of the nozzle are received within the sockets 84 on the unit 10 so as to automatically establish an electrical connection between the two.

The handle is then secured to the unit 10 in the manner previously described by engaging the pins 96 in the apertures 98, the electric cord being then looped over the hook 188 near the top of the handle so as to be out of the way of the operators feet.

If the switch 22 is now moved to the on position it will cause both the motor 24 in the unit 10 and the motor 58 in the nozzle 54 to operate. The latter motor drives the brush 62, the bristles of which sweep the rug so as to dislodge dirt adhering thereto. The operation of the motor 24 causes the blower 26 to produce a partial vacuum in the dust bag chamber, thus causing atmospheric air to enter the nozzle 54 through .the opening 66 and to pass through the conduit 48 to the interior of the dust bag 30.

As the unit 10 and attached nozzle 54 are moved back and forth over the rug by means of the handle 98, the air entering through the inlet 66 picks up dirt from the rug and carries away dirt dislodged from the rug by the rotary brush 62. This dirt is carried with the air into the bag 30, where the dirt is retained while the air passes through the material of the bag. This clean air enters the blower 26 through the inlet 27 and is discharged through the motor 24 into the space within the housing 18, from whence it is exhausted to the atmosphere through the outlet 19 in the same manner as described in connection with FIG. 1.

It will thus be seen that with the nozzle 54 attached directly to the cleaner there is obtained the advantage of mechanical agitation of the rug together with the high suction which may be obtained from a blower of the type which does not have to handle dirty air. As a matter of fact, the suction obtainable at the mouth 66 of the nozzle 54 is greater than that obtainable at the nozzle 114 in FIG. 1, due to the fact that in the latter arrangement there is a pressure drop through the wands 116 and the hose 112, which is not present when .the nozzle 54 is connected directly to the cleaner unit 10.

While we have shown one more or less specific embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that this has been done for purpose of illustration only and that the scope of our invention is not to be limited thereby, but is to be determined from the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, means for movably supporting said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a suction conduit connected to said nozzle, means for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface and with said conduit communicating with said inlet, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, and separable electrical contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, connectable when said nozzle is secured to said body.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, means for movably supporting said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a rigid suction conduit connected to said nozzle, a pin projecting from said nozzle, a socket on said body for receiving said pin for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface, said pin and conduit being so positioned with respect to each other that said conduit is received in said inlet when said pin is received in said socket, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, and separable electrical contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, automatically connecta'ble when said nozzle is secured to said body.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, means for movably supporting said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means Within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a rigid suction conduit connected to said nozzle, an automatically connectable and manually separable push connector on the end of said conduit, a pin projecting from said nozzle, a socket on said body for receiving said pin for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface, said pin and conduit being so relatively positioned that said push connector automatically is connected to said inlet when said pin is received in said socket, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, and separable electrical contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, automatically connectable when said nozzle is secured to said body.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, wheels for movably supporting said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a suction conduit connected to said nozzle, means for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface and with said conduit communicating with said inlet, wheeled support means on said nozzle for contacting said surface, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, and separable electric contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, connectable when said nozzle is secured to said body.

5. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, means for movably supp citing said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means Within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a suction conduit connected to said nozzle, means for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface and with said conduit communicating with said inlet, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, separable electrical contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, automatically connectable when said nozzle is secured to said body, and a handle member removably securable to said body member for moving said body member and said nozzle over said surface.

6. In a vacuum cleaner, a body member, means for movably supporting said body on a substantially horizontal surface, dust separating means Within said body, said body being formed with an opening for the insertion and removal of said 'dust separating means, a closure for said opening formed with an inlet port, a motor-fan unit within said housing for inducing flow of air through said inlet, a suction nozzle, a suction conduit connected to said nozzle, a pair of spaced sockets on said body adjacent to said inlet opening, a pair of pins projecting from said nozzle and receivable in said sockets for removably securing said nozzle to said body independently of said closure and in position to be moved with said body over said surface, said pins and sockets being so positioned relative to each other that said conduit is aligned with said inlet opening when the pins are received in the sockets, an agitator in said nozzle, an electric motor in said nozzle for driving said agitator, and separable electrical contacts on said nozzle and on said body member, respectively, automatically connectable when said pins are received in said sockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 980,944 Hatch et al Jan. 10, 1911 1,667,729 Fleming May 1, 1928 1,697,918 Keefer I an. 8, 1929 2,044,830 Carlstedt June 23, 1936 2,303,409 Taylor Dec. 1, 1942 2,477,681 Anderson Aug. 2, 1949 2,482,166 Gage Sept. 20, 1949 2,592,710 Kirby Apr. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 252,414 Great Britain Nov. 25, 1926 602,140 Germany Sept. 4, 1934 

